If you've ever wondered what the inside of your RV door looks like, then you are going to love this post. We (mostly my husband) took the door off and redesigned the inside for more support. This isn't something we just decided to do for fun, the door has been giving us trouble for awhile. The last few trips I was worried it was going to fly open. The door was also a pain to get latched, especially from the inside. The first step was to take the door off the hinge. (It was hard to take pictures and hold the door so there aren't any pictures of that step.)

It looks funny without the door on.

The next step was to take the door skins off. I was really surprised to see what type of insulation and support the door had! Here is a picture of the "insulation/support." You could tell the window had leaked and started breaking down the insulation/support.

Insulation/Support

The next step was to inspect the "frame." No wonder it flapped around so much!! I know the motorhome is around 30 years old, but this is a very sad frame.

The "Frame"

The door had flapped around so much that the outside skin and broke around near the latch area.

Broken Skin

Broken Skin Next, we (my husband) layed out the new frame over the old frame and then designed a new support system for the bottom of the door. Looks pretty strong, doesn't it?

New Frame

The next picture shows how the old frame looks without the skin holding it together. This picture made me start thinking about the wall construction in the rest of the motor home.

Old Frame

It is important to ask for help once in awhile and the bunnies in our neighborhood are there to help....and to drive the dogs crazy.

Now it's time to test the new frame on the skins to check for the fit. Looks good so far.

New Frame On A Skin

We didn't want anymore issues with the latch area ever again so my husband reinforced the latch area with some metal.

Latch Reinforcement

Next my husband wanted to make sure we weren't losing the inside warmth through the door and the outside heat was coming in through the door so he added some extra insulation.

An Extra Layer of Insulation

We bought some Thermotec Heat and Sound Insulation to line the inside of the doghouse (aka: engine cover) to help keep the heat away from our legs and from heating up the cab area too much while we were driving down the road. It worked well on the doghouse so we are confident it will work on the door.

The First Layer Of Insulation

Next we (he) added some of the same honeycomb cardboard stuff that was originally in the door. He added some heat tape around the edges to make sure if there is anymore water that tries to leak inside, it won't leak through the cardboard again.

Of course we added some artwork to the inside in case anybody ever tears the door apart again.

Our Artwork - I did the bottom panel.

He put the skins back on, put the window back in and added the rest of the hardware.

Hardware Not Shown In This Picture

The door was then put back on the motorhome and tested over and over and over and over and over. It was amazing! You can now shut the door from inside the motorhome on the first try and you don't have to hold the handle (or your tongue) in just the right way for it to close. It's great! The screen door also now opens with the outside door! My dogs' noses are really going to appreciate that!

The End

Now you don't have to tear apart your RV door to see what's on the inside and now I don't have to cuss at my RV door when I open or close it!!